Rajat Patidar withdraws from the Rising Stars Asia Cup as Rinku Singh takes the vice-captaincy

Ayush Badoni replaces an injured Rajat Patidar in India A's squad for the ACC Rising Stars Asia Cup, with Rinku Singh promoted to vice-captain

The BCCI made two changes to its India A squad on Sunday, eleven days before the tournament begins in Doha. Rajat Patidar, who was named vice-captain when the 15-man squad was picked on 2 November, has been withdrawn.

The board said the batter had asked not to be considered for one-day cricket while he manages existing injuries. Rinku Singh takes the vice-captaincy in his place, and Ayush Badoni comes into the squad.

Tilak Varma continues as captain for a 50-over tournament that runs from 19 to 29 November in Qatar.

Patidar asks to be left out of the 50-over format

The selection committee acted on a request from the player. Patidar "has communicated to the BCCI that he should not be considered for selection in the 50-over format" as he manages his existing injuries, the board said in its release.

"Accordingly, he has been withdrawn from the India A squad for the ACC Rising Stars Asia Cup," it added.

The statement did not name the injuries, say how long he expects to manage them, or indicate whether his availability for red-ball and Twenty20 cricket is affected.

A left-knee problem interrupted his domestic season from October 2025, and he carried a finger injury through the Indian Premier League in 2026, though the board has not tied this withdrawal to either.

His absence leaves a young squad without its most experienced middle-order batter and without the captain of Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

Rinku Singh promoted under Tilak Varma

Rinku moves up from inside the 15 rather than from outside it, and he will deputise for Tilak Varma, who keeps the captaincy he was handed when the squad was announced.

The batting group around the two of them is built largely on Twenty20 reputations. Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Prabhsimran Singh have made their names in the shortest format, and this edition of the tournament is played over 50 overs rather than 20.

Prabhsimran is the first-choice wicketkeeper, with Kumar Kushagra also named as a gloveman and Suryansh Shedge offering seam-bowling cover in the middle order.

Harshit Rana heads the pace attack alongside Prince Yadav and Arshad Khan, with the spin of Shahbaz Ahmed, Vipraj Nigam, Harsh Dubey and Tanush Kotian behind them.

Badoni arrives on back-to-back double hundreds

Badoni's Ranji Trophy season has been the most productive of his career. He made 217 for Delhi against Gujarat at Palam on 19 October, then followed it a round later with 210 not out against Jharkhand.

Delhi declared on 515 for 5 in that second innings. Badoni, who captains the side, joined a short list of Indian batters who have made double centuries in consecutive first-class innings.

That form arrives in a different format, and in a middle order that has just lost its senior figure. He is the only addition to a squad the selectors otherwise left alone.

Three group games in Doha

Eight teams are split into two groups of four. India A are in Group B with Pakistan Shaheens, Nepal and the United Arab Emirates.

They open against Nepal on 20 November, meet Pakistan Shaheens on 22 November and close the group against the UAE on 24 November.

Group A is made up of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Hong Kong, China. The top two in each group reach the semi-finals on 26 and 27 November, and the final is on 29 November.

India A go into the tournament having spent the past fortnight in New Zealand, where a separate squad has been playing unofficial Tests against New Zealand A.

India A begin their campaign against Nepal in Doha on 20 November.